The Paladin and the Priest
by Sheldorfan
Summary: Beloran is on a quest in Stranglethorn when he makes a new friend. Future chapters will come, but updates may be slow. Frienship/adventure for now, may turn to romance down the road, but who knows where it will lead.


A/N: This story is dedicated to my good friend Monika (AKA Squibbly) since she inspired and requested this story.

A/N2: Before the flamers decide to comment, I realize that some of the stuff in here throws character level out the window, that was intentional. This is a story, not the actual game, so I took creative liberty with some of it (I can dream about owning an Amani Warbear, even if it is impossible to get now). Oh yeah, and I don't own WoW, that's Blizzard's baby.

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><p>Beloran, a young Blood Elf, was on a quest in Stranglethorn Vale. His goal was to obtain the head of King Bangalash, the great white tiger. He was making his way up a knoll when he heard the sounds of a Priestess and the large tiger locked in battle. He crested the hill and the sight before him took his breath away. The Priestess was the most beautiful Blood Elf he had ever laid eyes on.<p>

He stood there dumbfounded for a moment as he watched her harness the Holy power of the Light and use it to smite her foe. The next moment, she had gathered the Holy power around her as a shield as the tiger slashed at her with tremendous force. The shield barely held, and Beloran realized that he needed to act now if she was going to survive the encounter. He ran in, imbuing his shield with Holy power as he did so. Raising his shield, he blocked the tiger's bite and released the power in his shield to strike the attacker.

"Stay behind me!" Shouted Beloran, as he parried another blow with his sword.

The Priestess took a moment to heal her wounds and said, "Thanks, keep him off of me and I will keep us alive."

They spent the next few minutes in combat. Beloran was blocking and dodging paws and fangs and responding with slashes from his sword. The Priestess was alternating between healing the Paladin's wounds and slinging Holy energy at the giant tiger. The tiger finally went down after one particularly mighty blow from the Paladin's Holy sword. Once King Bangalash had been relieved of his head, Beloran and the Priestess sat down to eat and drink to restore their energy.

As they were recovering in the shade of a tree, Beloran asked, "So what may I call you by, Priestess?"

"My name is Squibbly," she replied, "and yours?"

"Beloran," he stated.

"My thanks to you Beloran. I may have underestimated my prey," Squibbly frowned.

"Indeed, I would have had difficulty defeating him on my own as well. Those blows were powerful, but no match for your healing." Beloran responded with a smile.

"Your armor and skill with a shield made it a simple matter!" she exclaimed.

"Heh, we shouldn't squabble over who was more vital to our success. We defeated the beast as a team." Beloran chuckled.

"Then let us reap the rewards for our hard work," Squibbly said as she summoned her Zulian Panther to ride back to the Nessingwary camp.

Beloran summoned his Amani War Bear and they set off for the camp. The beasts they rode on weaved through the jungle effortlessly. Several minutes into the ride, they came across a hostile Troll camp, where they attempted to skirt the edge unnoticed.

Before he realized what had happened, Beloran was struck in the shield, which was slung over his back, with a spear. Before the Troll could get another spear ready, Squibbly already had a shield of Holy energy surrounding Beloran, causing the next spear to bounce off. The Troll turned it's attention toward Squibbly and launched another spear. Seeing this, Beloran hurled his shield at the attacker, catching him in the chest and leaving him gasping for breath. The spear grazed Squibbly in the arm, which she quickly healed. At this point two more Trolls noticed the intrusion and joined in.

Murmuring a quick incantation, Beloran consecrated the ground surrounding him. The first Troll caught his breath and joined the other two in swiping at the Paladin with their staves and shamanistic magic. Beloran blocked and parried as many of the attacks as he could but could not avoid all the blows. Squibbly, standing several yards behind Beloran, was moving her arms continuously to manipulate the Holy energy to heal Beloran and harm the Trolls. The Trolls fell, one by one.

Beloran and Squibbly resumed their journey north, eventually reaching the Nessingwary camp. They turned in the tiger head and received their rewards. Beloran then smiled, turned to Squibbly, and said, "Race you to the Salty Sailor!"

Squibbly replied with a grin and said, "You're on!" As she hopped onto her panther and tore off towards the main road south.

Beloran took off after her thinking to himself, 'this could be the beginning of something great!'

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><p>Reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside, so leave some! And if you didn't figure it out, my character in WoW is (or was rather, he's been race changed and renamed since) a Paladin named Beloran, and Squibbly is a Priest friend of mine. :)<p> 


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